Science, math, and art combine in interdisciplinary classes.
Middleburg Academy
Residential schools in Virginia might call to mind rolling hills, horse country, and an old-fashioned approach to education, but at Middleburg Academy and The Madeira School, programs look to the future and give students a solid foundation in science, technology, engineering, art, and mathematics.
Middleburg Academy helps students combine science, math, and technology skills with art at its forge. This past school year, students have begun to tap into the full potential of the 3,600-square-foot workshop that houses both a coal forge and propane-powered forge, all overseen by art teacher Stephen Rueckert. Students in Three Dimensional Design start out with a simple project, like bending metal rods into the shape of their initials, and then move on to more artistic designs.
Kasey Morris, director of admissions, points out that working in the forge allows students to physically experience the principles they learn about in classes. “It’s a lot different reading it in a textbook versus when the students are able to go to the forge and they can feel the heat and actually have a very tactile understanding of how warm something has to be and how often you have to heat it to actually bend the metal,” she says. “So, it’s a good practical application of what they’re reading.”
The Madeira School, an all-girls residential and day school in McLean, takes an interdisciplinary approach to STEAM. All ninth graders are required to take STEAM fundamentals for a solid foundation, and later, they are encouraged to get real world experience through the school’s co-curriculum internship program. Judy Painter, class of 2019, did her senior co-curriculum internship at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab, where she researched security vulnerabilities in ship navigation systems.
For more about Middleburg Academy or The Maderia School, check out Top High Schools and Colleges 2019. This article originally appeared in our October 2019 issue.
